Dennis A. Livesey
05-14-2010, 01:32 AM
Recently, it has been reiterated to my attention that the first lesson an artist should learn before presenting their art to the world is humility.
Without it, they will sit in their garret, be angry and die.
Frequently, newer, younger practitioners of artistic passion chafe at the arbitrary restrictions of acceptability to the masses. They spout do "I do what pleases ME and only that."
I, having once felt that way myself, now feel such opinions short sighted. While it is paramount to follow your muse, you must also align (within reasonable compromise) your creation with what works for humanity as a whole. With such adaptation, your vision will go out, be accepted, and have impact.
It is wrong headed to heed the ego and not bother to learn from people who have more knowledge than you. What makes you think you know it all and not one can tell you anything? Really? I'm a grey-haired geezer and I'm still learning, often from people who are grand-children age.
Your work cannot have influence, impact or meaning if kept inside your locked box. A few might say "If that is what moves an artist, so be it." My answer, "In a world that needs everything good it can get, what a waste."
I once upon a time railed against editors changing my line, my word, my punctuation. With my latest article, I had one of the most satisfying, rewarding editor/contributor relationships I have ever had. In such a set-up, each side needs each other in a symbiotic tryst. A bad such relationship has both sides as adversities, with each believing they know more than the other.
Same goes for the angry artist feeling "my way or the highway". With a little massaging your work will have a chance to change the world.
And that should be the goal.
Without it, they will sit in their garret, be angry and die.
Frequently, newer, younger practitioners of artistic passion chafe at the arbitrary restrictions of acceptability to the masses. They spout do "I do what pleases ME and only that."
I, having once felt that way myself, now feel such opinions short sighted. While it is paramount to follow your muse, you must also align (within reasonable compromise) your creation with what works for humanity as a whole. With such adaptation, your vision will go out, be accepted, and have impact.
It is wrong headed to heed the ego and not bother to learn from people who have more knowledge than you. What makes you think you know it all and not one can tell you anything? Really? I'm a grey-haired geezer and I'm still learning, often from people who are grand-children age.
Your work cannot have influence, impact or meaning if kept inside your locked box. A few might say "If that is what moves an artist, so be it." My answer, "In a world that needs everything good it can get, what a waste."
I once upon a time railed against editors changing my line, my word, my punctuation. With my latest article, I had one of the most satisfying, rewarding editor/contributor relationships I have ever had. In such a set-up, each side needs each other in a symbiotic tryst. A bad such relationship has both sides as adversities, with each believing they know more than the other.
Same goes for the angry artist feeling "my way or the highway". With a little massaging your work will have a chance to change the world.
And that should be the goal.